We’re excited to announce that next week we’re moving all LocalGovU users to our new UCIP Online Training platform.

This new LocalGovU training program has a more modern look and feel and is fully mobile-responsive, allowing easier access to courses and videos from any device. You’ll now receive notifications about assigned courses, with email reminders leading up to the due date. Online training has never been more effective and efficient.

Next week you’ll be given access to your new training platform and will receive a welcome email with details on where and how to login.

In the meantime, please be sure to complete any courses that you have in progress.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Alex at (801) 307-2122 or agetts@ucip.utah.gov.

Per a 2016 report, over half of the states in the Union fall under high risk in terms of the likelihood to collide with a deer. October – December are peak times for deer-related vehicle accidents. While deer-related accidents can occur any time during the year, with 1.34 million animal collisions reported in the US in 2017, the likelihood of colliding with one during the autumn months more than doubles due to deer mating season. Utahans face a 1 in 150 chance of a deer-related vehicular incident. As temperatures continue to drop, deer movement will become more frequent as they migrate closer to roads and residential areas where they forage for more accessible food.

In order to stay safe while traveling, there are a number of tips that can be followed:

Keep your eyes on the road. It might sound obvious, but this basic rule is essential to safety. Keeping your eyes on the road can also help scan for animals ahead. Most animal collisions occur in the front of the car, so looking ahead down the road will help avoid a collision. Pay attention to posted deer crossing signs; these are placed in areas known for high deer traffic. However, remain alert, as deer may appear anywhere.

Be especially attentive during commuting hours. Deer are the most active between 5-8 am, and 5-8 pm. Although deer can be active any time of the day, the majority of deer-related car accidents occur starting at dusk and during the evening.

Use high beam headlights. High beams are recommended for use at night and can help widen your range of visibility while driving in the dark and can help to spot animals sooner. If you see a deer far ahead, flick the high beams on and off multiple times. Deer tend to fixate on headlights, so flashing them may cause the animal to scurry away. Ensure that you dim your headlights when there’s oncoming traffic; high beam headlights can lower visibility for drivers facing the lights.

Where there is one deer, there are likely more. Deer tend to travel in large herds so if you spot a deer, make sure there aren’t others nearby that could collide with your vehicle. This can be done by honking the horn to scare animals away.

Brake firmly and stay in your lane. If colliding with an animal is imminent, it’s safer to brake firmly and stay in your lane than it is to swerve. If you think you have time to avoid hitting an animal, reduce speed, tap the brakes to warn drivers behind you, and sound your horn. If there’s no vehicle close behind you, break hard. If a collision seems inevitable, don’t veer off to avoid the animal. Swerving can result in colliding with oncoming traffic, an object on the side of the road, or can cause your vehicle to roll. Stay in your lane, even if it means you will it the deer. The consequences of swerving can be far more dangerous, or even fatal.

Always wear a seatbelt. Most injuries in animal collisions are a result of not wearing a seatbelt. One of the easiest ways to avoid injury if you do hit a deer is to make sure your seatbelt is properly buckled. Additionally, obey the speed limit and practice defensive driving tactics.

Whenever possible, consider preventative measures. Korby Siggard, UCIP’s Claims Manager, reported that Duchesne County outfitted their police patrol cars with cattle guards. Although the guards cost approximately $1,000 apiece, this preventative measure was considered cost effective taking into account that UCIP’s deductible is also $1,000. Since installing the cattle guards, Duchesne County has not had any reported incidents of deer collision.

If you hit a deer, move your vehicle to a safe place, if possible. If you can, pull over to the side of the road, and turn on your hazard lights. Do not approach wounded animals. Wounded animals can be unpredictable and may cause injury if approached. Call the police or animal control if a wounded animal is blocking traffic. If the collision results in injury or property damage, you will need to fill out an official report. This can prove useful when filing your claim with UCIP. Document the incident by taking photos of the roadway, your surroundings, damage to your vehicle, and any injuries you or your passengers sustained. Plenty of photos will help make your claim easier to process. If witnesses stop, take down their account of what occurred, and ask for their contact information. Utilize the UCIP Accident Reporting Kit. Don’t assume the vehicle is safe to drive. Double-check that your car is drivable after colliding with a deer. Look for leaking fluid, loose parts, tire damage, broken lights, a hood that won’t latch and other safety hazards. If your vehicle seems unsafe in any way, call for a tow.

The Utah Counties Indemnity Pool Board of Directors is happy to announce that the Annual Meeting of the Members will once again be held in conjunction with the Utah Association of Counties Annual Convention. The Pool was created by county officials with the help of UAC in 1992 and although administration changed in 2002, the established vision and purpose of the Pool continue to succeed. Rates are stable, coverage is broad yet specific to county operations and counties have equity ownership and control of claims.

All elected officials of member counties are encouraged to attend. This is an opportunity to hear from, and more importantly to be heard by, your Board of Directors regarding the protection of county assets. The UCIP Board of Directors needs your input to ensure that the UCIP Interlocal Agency is providing the services envisioned and needed by its members.

Registration is required and must be completed by November 8. Please click here to register for for the Membership Meeting and Dinner. Immediately following the meeting, dinner will be provided at the Rib & Chop House (1676 S Convention Center Drive, St. George) and is free to member county elected/appointed officials and employees who attend the meeting. Dinner for guest is $25.

UCIP’s annual Risk Management Workshop will be held Wednesday, October 24 and Thursday, October 25, at the Hilton Garden Inn Sandy. The Workshop will have presentations on a number of topics that are relevant to counties and county employees. Registration for the Risk Management Workshop can be secured through Eventbrite. Please see below for the Workshop agenda and information on lodging. Please reach out to UCIp with any questions you may have.

For the past few months, we have been issuing infographics to our Risk Coordinators to further distribute to the appropriate parties. While these will continue to be sent to Risk Coordinators, we are also now archiving them on the UCIP website. To find our infographics, please go to Member Login > Risk Management Training Resources > Infographics.

Erionite is a naturally occurring mineral found in fine-grained sediments such as volcanic ash deposits that have been altered by weathering and ground water. Erionite exists as a form of asbestos — one that some reports show to be more carcinogenic than the regulated asbestos forms — and has not been regulated since there are no commercial uses for it. UOSH has issued a recent publication from the CDC and NIOSH. We recommend that you review that document, but have summarized key information and recommendations below.

Erionite made its presence known on the world stage due to an array of unexplained mesothelioma deaths and illnesses in Tuzkoy, Turkey, which happened to be sitting on top of an erionite deposit. It has been found in all western US states, with the exception of Washington, and has been found further north in British Columbia. Small deposits of erionite have been found in Utah, north of Duchesne, and on the south slopes of the Uinta Mountains. Other deposits that have not been documented may also exist. As is common with rock, erionite may be eroded down the drainage of the exposed rock areas.

Crystalline silica is another mineral commonly found in many geologic formations, typically as quartz. Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica has been associated with silicosis, lung cancer, and other airway diseases. OSHA’s silica rule for construction (29 CFR 1926.1153 Respriable Crystalline Silica) which is in force in all federal OSHA states will also be in force in Utah. The Utah legislature passed it in the 2018 session, and it will now be posted by the Labor Commission for a 90 day comment period. The UOSH Compliance group will start enforcing it on October 1, 2018. The rule is applicable to all public and private employers in Utah, and it applies to any construction activity. Maintenance of existing roadways, modification (remodel) of structures including concrete cutting or grinding, re-pointing brick and other activities fall under the construction category.

One activity often done by public entities or hired contractors of those entities is leveling sidewalks by grinding off high spots. This function also falls under this standard. Past air sampling for this specific activity has found operators considerably over the PEL of the old standard. If the operator is not using engineering methods, such as a shroud and vacuum system, to minimize the amount of dust that is allowed to escape, they are exceeding the new PEL. Besides the threat to the health of employees, allowing this dust to escape into community air is hazardous for residents — especially children — in those communities. The unusual feature of this standard, as opposed to other OSHA chemical standards, is that the employer does not need to do an assessment of the hazard, if they are doing the activity in compliance with the methods outlined in Table 1 of the standard (Specified Exposure Control Methods). If the work is being done as described for that activity in the table, it is assumed that the exposure to employee(s) is below the PEL and no air sampling assessment must be completed. This is the first time OSHA has used this idea and it prevents employers from being required to do sometimes time-consuming and costly personal sampling.

Erionite fibers and crystalline silica only pose health hazards when they are disturbed and become airborne, which may occur during road maintenance and construction. Specialized heavy equipment, including that used in blading and grading, produce dust when maintaining and smoothing roads, while culverts, roadside drainage ditches, and cattle guards require periodic cleaning that may produce dust hazards. For example, road blading/grading observations conducted by the Health Hazard Evaluation Program indicated that while the driver and any occupants in a truck used for construction or maintenance would be protected from dust by the cab, it created a large dust cloud as it traveled down the road that would expose anyone downwind of the vehicle.

For employee health and safety, minimizing dust exposure during dust-generating activities is essential. Below are a number of recommendations that can be implemented in order to protect against not only erionite, but other airborne hazards:

Avoid using aggregate that is known or suspected to contain erionite to repair roads.

Keep the windows and doors to the equipment operator’s cabs closed when operating equipment or driving down dirt roads.

Maintain equipment air filters regularly as recommended by the equipment manufacturers. Change gaskets and seals when signs of age (i.e., cracking or wear) or damage occur. Air intake filters should have a MERV of 16 and should be a powered, pressurized system. The recommended flow rate should be between 40 and 140 cubic feet per minute. The filtration efficiency of the recirculation filter should be between a MERV-14 and MERV-16 filter at a flow rate of 200 – 300 cubic feet per minute.

Develop a maintenance schedule and standard operating procedure to maintain the local exhaust ventilation system in the minerals lab.

Conduct full-shift personal air sampling for respirable crystalline silica. If immediate efforts to reduce dust levels are not successful in reducing silica levels below the most protective occupational exposure limit, implement a respiratory protection program that meets the requirements of the OSHA respiratory protection standard. Ensure employees are medically cleared, fit-tested, clean-shaven, and adequately trained on respirator use and care before using respirators. Re-sample after additional controls have been put in place to confirm that exposures are consistently below applicable occupational exposure limits before eliminating respirator use.

Inform employees of the need to use dust control methods during any work and train them on dust control techniques.

Wet the soil or aggregate before disturbing it to reduce dust generation. It is common practice at construction and other outdoor work sites to use water trucks for dust suppression.

Restrict dust-generating activities to conditions conducive to reducing dust generation. Avoid dust-generating tasks on windy days. When possible, schedule dust-generating tasks on days when the soil is moist.

Educate employees on the health effects and hazards of crystalline silica and erionite, how they may be exposed, and control measures.

Train employees in proper work practices for working with soil or aggregate that may contain crystalline silica or erionite.

Personal protective equipment is the least effective means for controlling hazardous exposures. It requires a comprehensive program and high level of employee involvement and commitment. The right personal protective equipment must be chosen for each hazard. Training, change-out schedules, and medical assessment may be needed. Personal protective equipment should not be the sole method for controlling hazardous exposures, but should be used until effective engineering and administrative controls are in place.

During this Conference, UCIP’s own Johnnie Miller received AGRIP’s highest individual award; the Excellence in Service Award. Miller’s impressive 30 years contribution and service to public entity pooling nationally and locally earned him this honor. Miller’s education, knowledge, experience and willingness to advocate for pooling sets a standard of performance for others. UCIP is fortunate to have Miller as its CEO and advocate.

We’re happy to report that our calendar now reflects months worth of training opportunities UCIP members will find beneficial, including UCIP training and UAC conferences, as well as training and seminar sessions from our affiliates with the Utah Safety Council, Workers Compensation Fund, and more. These sessions will be updated, so please keep an eye on the calendar for a comprehensive listing of training sessions offered by UCIP and our affiliates.

In addition to the affiliate on-site training sessions offered, UCIP, the Utah Safety Council, Workers Compensation Fund, and other affiliates offer on-demand online training which you can access at any time through our website. We are also happy to schedule on-site training for UCIP members. Please contact Alex to make these arrangements.